With Larian's announcement last month that he is "leaving D&D," the future of Baldur's Gate is suddenly uncertain. The huge success of Baldur's Gate 3 has brought this classic RPG series firmly back to life, but without Larian continuing at the helm, what can we really expect in terms of potential sequels and spin-offs?

Hasbro, the owner of Wizards of the Coast, and by extension D&D, is trying to find the answer to that question, and after the further success of "Baldur's Gate 3" at the BAFTA Awards, I was asked by Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast's Digital Strategy and and Eugene Evans, Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy and Licensing for Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, about the future of the series. The good news is that a sequel is very much in the works, but the company is still exploring its options as to how and with which developer to produce it, and it looks like there is still a long way to go.

"We are talking to a number of partners right now and have been approached by a number of partners who are open to the challenge of what the future of the 'Baldur's Gate' franchise might look like," Evans said. We hope that it won't take another 25 years to answer that question, as it did from "Baldur's Gate 2" to "Baldur's Gate 3". But we will take our time to find the right partner, the right approach, and the right product that will represent the future of Baldur's Gate. We take that very, very seriously, as we do with all decisions regarding our portfolio. We will not rush into decisions about who to partner with on products or what products to consider."

Of course, it is not only the future of the series itself that is in question; Baldur'sGate3 also featured some of the most beloved companion characters in RPG history, and Swen Vincke confirmed that Shadowheart, Astarion, and other characters are now owned by Wizards of the Coast, not Larian, and fans are understandably concerned about what will happen to them.

"Larian has created much-loved characters, nominated them, and the voice actors behind them and their talents were honored by [BAFTAS]. And they are now essentially part of the D&D canon."

So the question is, where do we go from here?

"I think it's premature to get into specifics, and I think there are bigger questions about how we approach 'Baldur's Gate' in the future," Evans said.

"But for the sake of the fans, I would like to think that all of these characters have the potential to appear in future products.

Given how deeply bonded fans feel to these characters, there is a real concern in the community that Hasbro may not do them justice in the future. I asked Evans if that makes him wary or if the company fears a fan backlash against using these characters again, but he seemed confident in rising to the challenge. [Our community is passionate and they are the first to let us know if they don't like what we do. And that's part of what we love about them," he said.

"The bar is set very high, and it's our job to reach and exceed that bar."

Considering that "Baldur's Gate 3" won Game of the Year all over again, it is tempting to say that the bar is not only high, but stratospheric. I don't envy developers who have to work in such huge shoes. In the wake of Hasbro's mass layoffs at the end of last year, I think it's also fair to question how well equipped the company is to cultivate another similar blockbuster. According to Sven Vinke himself, the Wizards of the Coast team that Larian worked with on "Baldur's Gate 3" now has "almost no one left.

However, Evans wholeheartedly acknowledges the miracle that Larian has accomplished and the benefit this game has brought to D&D.

"They've done a great job with this product, it's a wonderful celebration of D&D," he said.

"That team is obviously great fans of D&D itself, and their celebration of the 50th anniversary of D&D's birth not only endeared them to lifelong fans, but also brought many new players to D&D, and I'm sure they'll continue to do so.

That seems like an understatement: while D&D has certainly grown in popularity over the past decade thanks to everything from new editions to the rise of streamers delivering actual play, there has never been a time when D&D has felt more mainstream and present than in the months following the release of "Baldur's Gate 3" last year At no time has there been a time when it felt as though it had a presence. Hasbro must have been surprised by the sheer magnitude of its success, I asked Evans. [First of all, D&D fans are crazy about this hobby, and I can't say I'm surprised by their enthusiasm. Whether it's a movie that has received great acclaim from the fan base or "Baldur's Gate 3," they love every representation of D&D. But it certainly proves, or confirms, that fans have a voracious appetite for D&D-related content, especially video games. Because we ourselves are invested in the development of new D&D games"

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While it will be some time before we see the fruits of all these efforts, it seems certain that there is plenty to keep fans occupied while they wait for the new "Baldur's Gate" game.

"Those games will come out over the next five years and will cover all genres and all platforms. And I think there's room in the D&D universe for a lot of different representations of what D&D is, as long as we stay true to what people love about D&D and stay true to the IP. And we are committed to doing that.

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